The “peace” plan involved lifting sanctions on Russia and was drafted by Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, and Felix Sater, a Russian-American property developer.

Pro-Russia Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii V. Artemenko was also involved.

Cohen was named last month in the unverified Russia-Trump dossier compiled by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele as part of the “ongoing secret liaison relationship between the New York tycoon’s campaign and the Russian leadership.

The plan involved lifting sanctions on Russia in return for Moscow withdrawing its support for pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine. It would also allow Russia to maintain control over Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

The proposal was drafted by Cohen — a close confidante of President Donald Trump who has served as his organization’s special counsel since 2007, and now serves as Trump’s personal lawyer — and Felix Sater (*), a Russian-American real estate developer who has helped the Trump Organization scout deals in Russia.

(*) Felix Henry Sater (born Haim Felix Sater; March 2, 1966) is a Russian-born American real estate developer and managing director of Bayrock Group LLC, a real estate conglomerate based out of New York City, New York (and heavily connected with several Trump businesses). Sater has been an advisor to many corporations, including The Trump Organization, Rixos Hotels and Resorts, Sembol Construction, Potok (formerly the Mirax Group), and TxOil. In 1991, Sater got into an argument with a commodities broker at the El Rio Grande restaurant and bar in Midtown. He stabbed the man’s cheek and neck with the stem of a margarita glass, breaking his jaw, lacerating his face, and severing nerves. Sater was convicted of first degree assault in 1993 and served a year in prison. This resulted in Sater being barred from selling securities on the National Association of Securities Dealers (now called the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). In 1998, Sater was convicted of charges of fraud in connection to a $7.9 million penny stock pump and dump scheme through his employer, White Rock Partners. This fraud scheme also directly involved the New York Russian Mafia, who Sater has close ties with.

Sater, a businessman formerly linked with the Mafia who has boasted of his “relationship with Trump,” told the Washington Post last May that he “handled all of the negotiations” for the Trump Organization’s dealings in Russia in the mid-2000’s.

Trump has distanced himself from Sater, insisting in sworn testimony as part of a 2013 lawsuit that “if [Sater] were sitting in the room right now, I really wouldn’t know what he looked like.” (This is the same Sater as described above!!!)

Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii V. Artemenko, who met with Trump’s campaign team during the election, was also involved in drafting the proposal. Artemenko told the Times he had (alleged) evidence of Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko’s corruption that could lead to his ouster….

Shortly after the Times published its story about the meeting, Cohen told The Washington Post that while he did meet with Sater and Artemenko to draft the plan, he never delivered it to Flynn.

“I acknowledge that the brief meeting took place, but emphatically deny discussing this topic or delivering any documents to the White House and/or General Flynn,” Cohen said.

The Times stood by its story, however, saying that Cohen “told The Times in no uncertain terms that he delivered the Ukraine proposal to Michael Flynn’s office at the White House. Mr. Sater told the Times that Mr. Cohen had told him the same thing.”

Meanwhile….

The FBI is currently reviewing the allegations made in the dossier, and is pursuing three separate investigations into Russian hacking that targeted prominent Democrats during the US election.

The intelligence community is also examining phone calls made between Trump associates and Russian officials throughout the campaign.